Ups and Downs

I'll start with the "downs" first. As I keep realizing, I'm not 100% yet. This is most obvious when I lose my balance. The other day, I fell over while vacuuming - tripped on my own foot. Fortunately, the carpet was relatively soft and I just tweaked my shoulder a bit...and nobody saw me. 8) Last Tues., I fell while carrying Ethan up some stairs. I have painful rug burns on both knees to remind me that I'm not as "fit" as I sometimes think I am. I was carrying Ethan and a bunch of other stuff, running late, and trying to muscle through the fatigue going up the stairs (as most Moms do). Well, I didn't lift my foot high enough and down we went. I kept Ethan from falling/getting hurt, fortunately. He just looked at me like, "OK, Mumma, what just happened?" Crazy times.
The "up" is that we made a trip to Pittsburg...just me and the kids!!!! This was HUGE! I've never gone on a long drive with 3 kids before. This doesn't bother me as long as nobody pukes, has to pee (or worse, poop), and there aren't any car problems. These snags can create quite the adventure. This is also the first road trip I've done since chemo (without another adult). It was interesting because as I headed out, I felt nervous just like the first time I drove my parents' car after getting my license. (The nervousness then was mostly because I was going to a place where I had never been...on my own and navigating at the same time.) I was surprised at the commonality. Everything went fine; we arrived 5 min. after midnight. The visit with Grammie and the rest of the family was great. I even got to see my 17-year-old cousin, Whit, twice! That's major considering he's a busy guy working these days. I also was able to visit quite a bit with Denise. This was such a treat as we haven't been able to spend much time together since I was spoiled last summer with her being with us every week. It was wonderful hanging out with the kids and Grammie - we had a picnic and "swim" at Back Lake, visited a castle climbing structure, played on the huge grassy lawn, ate YUMMY foods! The weather was really good, and we had a great time. Denise rode home with us, which was a great opportunity to gab and also helped me maintain sanity with 3 crazy kids in the back seat. And, the kids and I had dinner with Gram H. The kids were ECSTATIC about the box mac and cheese and hotdogs, with choc. milk to boot! Anderson said, "I don't think it gets any better than this!" 8) Gram and I had a nice visit, and it was wonderful to be over her place after almost 2 years away. God is good.

Not 100%...Yet

We had the flu in the Levasseur household last week. It started with Bob and Anderson at the end of our family camping adventure, and we thought we were in the clear. Wrong! Sun. AM, I woke up feeling sick. By Sun. afternoon, Lyndsey was puking. She seemed to bounce back fairly quickly, but Ethan also was sick. I was amazed at how long it took me to get over it. After I finally puked (I held out a LONG time - very unusual for me!), I felt better, but it still took DAYS for me to regain strength and not be dizzy from weakness. This made me realize that the chemo really does have long-lasting effects on me. My body isn't fully strong yet. I'm not complaining though. As I was throwing up, I was praising God for it. This was the first time in over a year. This is a major miracle as nearly all women my age who have chemo puke while they're receiving it and afterwards. (The nurses always had the pink bowl ready!) God spared me, and I am so thankful. God is good.

On kind of a funny note, by about Tues. night, the kids were praying that I would get better so it woudn't be so B-O-R-I-N-G. Bob relayed this to me. They definitely were getting sick of being in the house, even if it did mean extra PBS so I could nap on the couch!

Wonderful inefficiencies

I read a MOPS e-mail that talked about the "curse" of learning to be an efficient mom. We mothers strive to multi-task on many levels and efficiently accomplish more than any human should. This ability to multi-task is a blessing, but the article encouraged mothers to sometimes be inefficient. The example the author gave was driving the long way home from getting groceries so she could see some beautiful gardens. This challenged me to not always be in such a hurry, to not miss the little things or not prohibit myself from slowing down to a walk, but I wasn't sure of any specific examples where it would apply in my own life. Well, I think I found one! Last Fri., I went blueberry picking. Most of my girlfriends pick cultivated blueberries (high bush). They're larger than wild ones, grow in clumps, and are easy to access. I chose to take my kids up Blue Job and pick small (SWEET), free blueberries that were scattered all over the bushes in 1's and 2's. This is not the most efficient way to pick blueberries, but I enjoyed it so much (in spite of the heat and carrying Ethan the whole way in a baby backpack!!). This, for me, was a great inefficiency and "waste" of a day with my kids. I also learned that Anderson is good at picking blueberries and finding the "jackpots". I also discovered that we need to work on training Lyndsey to pee outside. What a mess, poor girl!

Hair Humor

I think that because I had to have a sense of humor about my hair, weird "hair things" really crack me up. I'll share a few, and if you're lucky, you'll get the same great laugh over it that I have.
A few weeks ago, I was talking with a woman at the women's retreat. She asked me if I had a sister at church. I was wondering who she thought looks like me; perhaps it was Courtney or Melissa because I've heard that. (I think it's the smiles.) She went on to say that there was a woman who led Bible study that she went to a few times that she thought was my sister. I CRACKED up - not at her but in amazement at the connection she made from years before. "That was me!" I said. She hadn't known that I'd gone through cancer and chemo, so the difference in hair color and style made her not realize I was the same person. This still makes me chuckle.
The second thing is what my friend's daughter said to her Nana. Samantha is Lyndsey's age and told her Nana that I had a "chemo haircut" and that it still looked pretty. That is so incredibly sweet, and the part about a chemo haircut makes me laugh and laugh.
Laughter is good for the soul.

Kids Update

Ethan started walking full-time a few weeks ago. I love watching him toddle around. As Jason predicted, he's quiet about his mischief and fast. I've lost track of him a few times but am getting much better at staying ahead of him. He's also started signing "all done" with regards to his food being gone, not him being finished eating. He loves to eat! He also loves to give me and Bob kisses. Out of the blue, he will come toddling over to me with his lower lip slightly protruding and humming "mmmmmm". It means he wants a kiss. Ohhhh! What a treasure! I'll be sad when he grows out of it.
Lyndsey is very good at painting fingernails. Auntie Beth and I were amazed. Hopefully, she won't decide to do it independently, which is why the polish is stored in my bathroom. She's also doing much better with not trying to physically make Ethan do what she wants him to do. I'm am so proud of her better self-control and greater demonstrations of respect. She was very concerned that when Papa John came to stay that he remember Cricket (his dog's) bed...always the nurturer.
Anderson has graduated kindergarten!!! It was a fun day, although Anderson didn't like wearing a tie. He is doing a great job reading, and today, I even found him independently reading his kids' Bible. This is a big step from reading to us or reading signs/food labels. The last day of school, he got a nice black eye. He and a friend collided, but he said it didn't hurt too badly. It sure looks like it did!

Fitness update

Oh, I am so behind in blogging! So, I'll try to be concise.
I had my chest/pelvis CAT scan, and it was clean. Woohoo! I wasn't really nervous about it, but there have been verses about trusting God and songs and such that made me wonder if God was preparing me for another battle. This made me wonder if this CAT scan would reveal something unexpected. It did not. Thank You, God.
My hair is growing back in dark and curly. It's absolutely crazy to be fighting the puffball. However, I am enjoying the new hair style, as much as can be expected. Bob wants it long again. My thought is that I'll take it 1 hairstyle at a time; we'll see what happens. I am still determined to enjoy the variety. I've noticed some grays coming in but am constantly remembering what I said before - gray hair is better than no hair. 8) Also, I was driving the Mazda yesterday and as the sun was shining through the sunroof, I noticed that I have red hairs growing in too! Just like Lyndsey's. It was really nice to see this in that to me it means I'm bouncing back to me. (This dark hair is just so foreign to me, and I had blond and red highlights before.)
I'm having to watch what I'm eating again. Bummer! I'm up to 122 pounds, which is fine, but I'm noticing that it's not all muscle. When you factor in the muscle that I will be continually building as my butt, leg, hip muscles are developed, that would put me heavier than I want to be (and who wants belly flab!). So, I'm trying to be more mindful, I've made it to the gym a number of times (which feels really good!) and plan to become more consistent, and this too is a lot more like "normal" to me.
The back of my leg is really "zingy" now. The nerves are regenerating, but this means that shaving is torture! It's like getting constant electrical shocks all down the back of my leg! Sometimes, I get zinged when nothing is touching it. This is progress from numbness. 8)
I finish my physical therapy next week, and the rest is in my hands. Willem says it will take at least a year to get both sides symmetric in look and strength. Now for the discipline to keep up with my exercises! I think I'm going to set a high goal and then bribe myself with a professional massage when I attain it. That should work!
When I had my last CAT scan, I had to have contrast through an IV. It was a very different experience having it taken out because I now have arm hairs. Youch!! Tearing off the tape that keeps the IV securely in 1 place really stung! I hadn't thought about that one!

Family update

Ethan has decided that he wants to walk, sometimes. He still is really lovey-dovey and has a great dimply smile. He likes to fake laugh now too...it cracks me up. He LOVES Hayden (Jason and Dawn's baby), can't get enough of him...kisses and such. Hayden isn't quite sure what he thinks about it. We really enjoyed having him overnight a couple of weeks ago though!
Lyndsey is taming a little bit. Whew! She's doing great with learning her letters...basically picking it up by herself. I plan to do some "school" stuff with her next school year, if not before. I don't want to miss out on this! She's still struggling to obey rather than do what she wants to do, and to keep her hands off Ethan. *sigh* She's very good with Hayden though!
Anderson is doing great with his reading. He read Member Way on a road sign while we were driving, which I thought was pretty impressive. His mouth looks like a jack-o-lantern. As Ethan gains teeth, Anderson loses! He also figured out that the tooth fairy isn't real. It was a neat conversation, which included an explanation of why he moved his tooth fairy pillow to different spots. (He wanted to help the tooth fairy out, which made life very difficult for me!!!)
Bob rode a bicycle to work this morning - first time. He still isn't home yet. 8) He's had a great time spending money on the accessories that he needs. He's borrowing a road bike right now. Here comes another expense! GREEAATT.
I'm feeling really good. My energy is up, and I'm nearly done all my physical therapy. The Wellness program ended for me last Monday. It will be wonderful to not have appts. 4 days/week. The trick will be keeping myself from filling up the time. I know one thing; I need to tackle this house! We also need to get out for some walks too.
Off to make a new recipe for dinner. We'll see what the kids think of this one.

Vacation Recap - Part 2

We went to Sea World the first day (with Mom, Dad, and Grammie). It was a good day but kind of difficult to figure out how to work this "group in a busy park" adventure. We certainly didn't have a very long list of what we had seen/ridden on by the end of the day, but we did have fun. Even the first day was quite tiring (especially given we were battling the flu), so we checked into the All-Star Music Resort and took naps, going back to Sea World afterwards. The evening was really nice in that it wasn't busy at all. We walked through exhibits and didn't have to worry as much about keeping everybody accounted for. The kids went on the sea carousel (Lyndsey's "wish" item) and climbed with Bob on a huge "jungle gym" of rope ladders, tunnels, and slides. Lyndsey's timidity over it subsided as Daddy went with her and encouraged her. My hip was doing well, but I just didn't have the energy to go on it too. I'm sure part of it was the influence of not feeling great. I decided that it was best not to push it.
The kids were definitely interested in seeing the sea animals and had lots of questions. We saw the Shamu show, but it wasn't all that great since the trainers now don't get in the water with the whales. The kids didn't know what they were missing, which was good. They liked going to the dolphin nursery, and Anderson decided early on that he wanted to feed the dolphins. (It happened our last day at Sea World and was really neat. We got to touch them! Well, Anderson and I did as Lyndsey didn't want to. Bob and Ethan were videoing.) It seemed that the kids liked the moving walkway in the shark tunnel more than being able to look all around at sharks swimming above and below. Go figure! Ethan took it all in though. Our second day back to Sea World (day 6 of our Orlando adventure) was much more eventful. We saw some GREAT shows (dolphins, sea lions, Jack Hanna!), rode the Manta (GREAT rollercoaster - the adults went except from Grammie!), saw the penguins, manatee, and seals, etc. I think that part of the higher level of excitement that I sensed was probably due to good health and the kids understanding how the whole park "scene" works. Mom, Dad, and Grammie had to leave us a bit early to catch their plane, but the kids couldn't last much longer anyway. Day 6 maxed them (well, all of us) out. I was surprised that we didn't cover all of Sea World. But, that's the way it worked out. It was part of learning and accepting that we can't push too hard. I'm really glad that we went 2 days, especially since the kids like animals and sea life so much.

Vacation Recap - Part 1

Our trip to FL was tiring but went smoothly. We were thrilled to be able to carry all our luggage on and not have to pay extra fees. We even got in a bit early! The kids enjoyed flying, although Lyndsey was nervous during the descent. She held my hand so we wouldn't fall out! She also noticed that when the plane takes off, it goes as fast as Daddy's car! We discovered that Ethan does not nap on planes until he can't possibly hold his eyes open. I had to lull him to sleep back near the engines, bouncing him and swaying. Anderson really enjoyed looking out the window but did not enjoy carting our stuff through the airports. However, when we were renting the car, we met a passenger with a parrot. That was very cool; he told us a lot about it. (It was in a cat carrier, minus the cat.)
We spent he first few days of our vacation in South Pasedena at a condo. It was very nice and allowed us (me) to wind down a bit from all the pre-vacation hoopla and the traveling. I was quite tired and took a lot of naps. The pool was really nice. The kids loved going between the pool and the hot tub - gluttons for punishment, I think. Ethan really liked the water - his first real time in a pool/lake! He laid right back and floated in his life vest. He was very relaxed!

Anderson came down with the flu the morning before we were supposed to leave for Orlando, throwing up and all. Lyndsey also got it. I was praying that the rest of us wouldn't catch it! I had no idea what we were going to do if we were sick the next day. Fortunately, God stopped the flu, and although Bob and I had our moments of not feeling great, we never got sick. (Poor Courtney did the night before they were headed to Orlando!)

Doctor's appt.

Today we had a double doctor's appt. It was Lyndsey's 4-year well-check and a follow-up appt. for Ethan (from the pneumonia/ear infections).
Lyndsey is doing great. She is 39 pounds and 42 inches tall (just tall enough for some of the Disney rides!). That translates to 90-95% in height and 70-90% for weight. She can do things with her hands that are beyond "normal" for her age group, and she peed in a cup! She needed 3 shots and did SUPERBLY! We prayed about it twice last night and once this morning, but I have to say that I was floored with her calmness throughout the whole process. She didn't even whimper! I couldn't believe it (especially since she's still quite tired from yesterday and our last shot experience was horrific - I had even begged Bob to bring her to this dr. appt.)! We are very excited about this major "accomplishment" for Lyndsey, how she saw God take care of her needs and help her.
Ethan is much better from the pneumonia - clear lungs. He still has fluid in 1 ear, so we'll return to the doctor's at the end of May, just to make sure that it goes away. Both kids still have a junky cough, but the dr. says it will eventually go away. This stuff hangs on pretty good.
By the way, Anderson also had a major accomplishment today - his first school concert. He did not want to do it, but he did such a good job singing with the other kids. He did not look like he enjoyed it (reminded me SO much of Jason when he used to have to sing), but he survived. 8) He was very energetic afterwards, so it didn't drain him too much! We were especially happy that Grammie C was able to come too...so special!

Home Sweet Home!

You might have wondered why you haven't seen any blog entries for a while. We've been on vacation for 3 weeks! It was great, just what we needed! In the next week or so, I will be blogging about it. In the meantime, this is the adventure of today.

We got up nice and early (as planned) to pack the last bit of our stuff (or should I say that Bob the master packer worked at cramming more clothes and stuff into already full suitcases in an attempt to carry everything on the plane and avoid checked baggage fees?). We left the hotel on-time, which is amazing for us. We got to the airport at a decent time, although certainly not with "plenty of time to spare". Does this surprise you? (All I could think of was my business travel with Alice and how she would keep me in the realm of time to spare. 8) ) Then, the adventure began. The signage was horrible. "All terminals this way" really meant "you could get to all terminals this way but you'll have to walk a mile in and out of buildings". We didn't discover this until, after asking an airport employee who directed us to keep going the direction we were headed, we came to the END of the terminal and no AirTran. Come to find out, we needed a different terminal, and the shuttle to get to it was across the airport thoroughfare. So, "you can't get there from here". This meant trucking all the way back the length of the terminal, down the elevator and out the door to the shuttle stop. We waited a LONG 5-10 minutes for the shuttle to arrive (by this time, we were 1/2 hour from departure and had not checked in nor gone through security) and unloaded everybody and everything to get our 3 children, 4 suitcases, 3 car seats, 3 backpacks, double stroller, an x-ray and 2 misc. bags onto the shuttle. When we arrived at the correct terminal, we found out that we could have just taken a shuttle from the car rental drop-off directly to the terminal. AGGGH!! The kids were WAY worn out as they were shlepping stuff too, I was sweating and breathless between walk/running and trying to motivate the kids to not dawdle, and we were once again hustling the length of the entire terminal to get to our carrier. (At this point, Bob was also double-loaded as Lyndsey couldn't handle anymore.)

I wanted to get so frustrated, but God showed me the teachable moment. I was able to talk with the kids about my having a choice about the kind of attitude I'd have about all this. I could be frustrated and angry because it was a lot harder than it needed to be and we were in danger of missing the plane, or I could give it to God and just try to maintain a good attitude. (Anderson, especially, has been struggling with getting upset about things/deciding they're "boring" or not good enough, etc., when the situation looks more like he's choosing to look at the negative over the positive. I wouldn't say that he's pessimistic in general, but we've been seeing a lot more pessimistic tendencies lately. Hopefully, it's just a phase as life is much easier/more enjoyable when the glass is half full rather than half empty.) So, God used Anderson's struggles to help keep my attitude and perspective in check.

When we got to the terminal, the airline employee said she didn't know if she'd be able to log us in. The computer let her, and we were instructed to run. Ha, ha. Through airport security with 3 kids, 4 suitcases, ... you get the point. Everybody's shoes had to come off, and I had to be hand-wanded due to my metal hip. It was insane, but we got through and RAN to the gate. When we arrived, the airline employee was NOT happy to see us with all our stuff. The others were very nice, and we got everything tagged for under the plane (car seats and stroller), suitcases and children onto the plane, and everybody seated with NO time to spare. (Our seats weren't together, so Bob and I really had to divide and conquer. I felt like an exhausted, crazy lady, and Ethan was complaining because of how I had to carry him. Poor kid.) Fortunately, the woman that Anderson, Ethan, and I shared a row with was very understanding and encouraging. She and I had a great conversation during the 2 hour flight where I didn't have any of the entertainment/food that I had packed for the kids since our bags had been put in any bin where there was space. We managed though. That was the first leg.

At the end of the first leg, Lyndsey and Ethan fell asleep. Bob had to wake Lyndsey up, and she was NOT a happy camper. She wouldn't follow him off the plane because she wanted to be carried, so I had to go back to herd her out. That was just the beginning. I won't go into details, but the bottom line is that Bob and I were beside ourselves trying to get everybody and everything onto the second plane. Anderson was extremely cooperative, and we were SO thankful. He responded well to pretending that we were race cars in a race. I was the commentator in the rear calling out the progress of race car Anderson, and yes, he did make it to the lead. I honestly wondered if we were going to make it getting everything to the gate and onto the plane. God got us there though. The next thing was for Him to show us how to parent Lyndsey as she was in hysterics by this point. Once I got the snacks out, I realized that part of the problem might have been hunger. It was past lunch time, and the kids just kept eating and eating. This doesn't provide an excuse, but I did learn that when you need cooperation in a very timely manner, make sure their bellies are reasonably full. It sets you up for success rather than providing another thing they have to overcome. Lesson learned. Fortunately, everybody's mood/attitude improved. Thank You, God, for helping us make it to Boston...whew.

Grammie C. met us at the airport. We were all very happy to see her, especially the kids. No problem cooperating now! 8) It was cute to see Anderson and Lyndsey excited to tell her stories about what had happened since we saw her 1.5 weeks ago. Of course, one of the first things they exclaimed was, "We almost missed the plane!" Yep, ratted out every time. 8)
We actually reached home around 5 and at right away. Bob did a lot of unpacking, and I worked on groceries and childcare. I'm pleased with what we've accomplished tonight, although there is still LOTS to do over the next few days.

Ethan

Just wanted to let you know that Ethan is quite sick. Basically, it seems that he has been sick for the entire month of March, one thing right after another. He's cutting at least 3 teeth, so that has probably lowered his immunities. Yesterday, the dr. diagnosed him with pneumonia and a double ear infection. Poor guy! He's pretty miserable, but we have seen a slight improvement since he started the nebulizer treatments and the antibiotic. We heard his first non-crying sounds ("talking") last night, the first time in days as Bob pointed out. I'm hoping we'll see great improvements tomorrow.

Bounce House

Tonight was a lot of fun. We had a family night at church. There was a bounce house to keep the kids occupied while the parents heard a speaker. Afterwards, I went in the bounce house. It was great!!! I think that part of the reason that it was so much fun is that it was hard for me to keep my balance (kind of like when I was a kid). It was an EXCELLENT workout for my hip, and I had so much fun bouncing and falling with Anderson and Lyndsey. Ethan even played with us in there a little bit (and Bob too). I think that Lyndsey enjoyed playing in there with me the most; we held hands and bounced and fell...giggle, giggle, giggle. It was a great time and one I'll always treasure in the "great memories" section of my brain. It's kind of neat to see that my hip replacement helped me to actually have MORE fun than the average adult. Go figure!!

One year ago...

Well, today is the anniversary of my hip surgery to remove the cancer. I cannot believe that a year has passed. I find myself thinking a lot about all the things that I'm thankful for that people gave, said, did over the last year. God went above and beyond through so many different people; I am still amazed.

Have we returned to "normal life" yet? Sort of, I guess. Things are very busy, especially with my 5 days/week of appts related to physical recovery. That is taking its toll, especially on the kids, but we will persevere. It definitely is helping me physically. I'm again running up and down the stairs to get out the door "sort of" on time. I can lift Ethan off the floor with ease and carry him around the house. I've even wrestled a bit with Anderson and given Lyndsey a piggy back ride. I don't have hip pain, although all my muscles are usually sore due to all the "new" use and regeneration that is happening. My limp is still there but definitely improving. I also have arm muscles again (small, but they are there)! I'm building up endurance (cardio-wise) and my balance has improved tremendously. My hair is growing well...I actually had my first haircut today! It's been over a year since I've had my hair done, and boy, was that nice! Even though my hair is very short, I felt quite girly, which is something I've struggled with. It has been very helpful having eyelashes and eyebrows again. I won't take it for granted being able to wear mascara!

I really need to get to bed. If you think of it, pray for the kids. I think that things are starting to catch up with them, and my leaving for appointments usually leads to tears for them. It's hard.

Ethan turned 1!!

I can't believe it! My precious preemie is 1 year old, and there isn't anything preemie about him. He's actually more "sturdy" in his physique than either of the other kids. He's walking with coaxing, determining that he has eating/drinking preferences (drinks can't be too cold, doesn't care for carrots, won't eat what he is given when he sees something on the table that he prefers), using sign language, expresses frustration with Lyndsey (sort of like a cry for help from Mumma), claps, jumps on the trampoline, etc. We had a "friends" birthday last Thursday (Winnie the Pooh cake - photo below), and we'll have his "family" party this Saturday (Tigger cake). He definitely loves cake!

Crazy storm

Amazingly, we didn't lose power at all. The wind here was INCREDIBLE, but we'd had Dad cut the dead/dying trees last year. So, we fared wonderful well. I'm so thankful as many people lost power for quite a while. Mom and Dad, Jason and Dawn, and Beth Anne were all without power for days.
Ethan had trouble sleeping during the storm. I think that the wind kept waking him up (it sounded like a freight train!), and then he'd cry and cry. Finally, after a few tries of putting him back to sleep, we realized that maybe he was a bit scared too. So, we put him in bed with me while Bob was working on my closet. (Woohoo!) Ethan can't sleep all cuddled up, so I just leaned my head against his. That seemed to do the trick as he fell soundly asleep. Hours later, Bob put Ethan back in his own bed and reclaimed his side of our bed.

Ethan

We've had some great Ethan moments lately. Last weekend was his baby dedication, a very special day for him as well as us. For us, it's a time to formally ask for help in raising Ethan to love and serve God. He is God's child, and we want to remember our purpose in the time that we have with him.
This weekend, Ethan started walking! He has taken a step here and there, but now it's a few steps in a row. He still definitely prefers crawling, but that won't last too long.
Ethan also had his first drink of cow's milk. He really liked it; it's the first time I've seen him try to drink from his sippee cup independently. We'll see how it settles with his system. 8)

Valentine's Day

I realized that Bob's and my last "normal" date was Valentine's Day 2009. I was in considerable pain but managed to enjoy the steak at Texas Roadhouse. How far we've come since a year ago! We had a good Valentine's Day 2010 - even danced! It was very hard for me to shift my weight on and off my "bad hip", but it was well worth the effort. I look forward to dancing easily again, and it will come.

This was the first time I went out without something covering my head. It felt very strange, and a bit daring, but I soon forgot I was sporting a short 'do. I definitely was happy to have my Lyndsey "baby earrings" to spruce things up. I'm getting a styling "trim" this week and am really looking forward to it. As Grampa used to say, "It's touching my ears" (implying that it's time for a trim).

Hayden has arrived!

Many of you have probably already heard, but Hayden Daniel Covill has finally arrived! He was born at 11:52 on Feb. 3 at a nice 7.5 pounds. We are so excited that this long-awaited gift from God has finally come!!! The kids couldn't see him (except through a window) due to the hospital rules, but I got to hold him! He even opened his eyes and looked at me!

Anderson was acting a bit odd about seeing Hayden, but I later realized that he didn't know what to make of my (and others in the family) being so wound up over Hayden's arrival. My Mom, ever the wise one, suggested that maybe he was feeling a bit jealous or displaced or something. So, we started talking about what his and Hayden's relationship might be like - whether Hayden will laugh histerically at him like Ethan does. This seemed to help matters. We have yet to spend any time with Hayden as a family since Ethan was very sick last week, so we'll see how the kids react to that. I will also try to tone it down a bit. 8)

By the way, Ethan is a lot better now. He still has a yucky cough, but the antibiotics seem to be helping. The dr. thought that maybe he was trying to come down with pneumonia. The nebulizer also helped significantly. I'm so glad that the high fevers are gone (his temp. peaked at 105.7 on Thursday...so scary but definitely a time to remember that he is God's child)! He's still a bit tired but acting MUCH more like himself. And so far, none of the rest of us seem to be getting sick.

Christmas Photo

Here is one of my favorite photos from this Christmas. It was so great to spend time with Dan as it had been a whole year since we last saw him. This was also the first time that he met Ethan. I just loved watching him play with the kids; they think he's GREAT! It's funny because we had a waiter at Friendly's (back in November) named Dan. We went back to Friendly's this week, and Anderson remembered him (mentioned it as he saw Dan across the room). It's because he had associated him with Uncle Dan. Awww! (Lyndsey kept wanting to call him "Uncle Dan" because in her mind, there is no other Dan except her uncle. This guy must have the same exact name too!)

I am also very pleased to notice that I look very different now from when this photo was taken. Woohoo! I have eyelashes and eyebrows!! My hair is also a lot longer. I'm actually getting ready to book my first haircut (actually a hair "shape"). I actually wake up with bed head, and get hat head, now! My nails are still a wreck though. I'm getting close to where my toenails will have completely grown out the "chemo toe nail". I hadn't realized how gross they looked because Aunt Carol (and Beth Anne) did such a good job keeping those nails painted! God provided in even the small things.